What alignment is House?

[Allandaros]

Though I'm by no means as dedicated a House-watcher as those posting here, I'm going to say that I haven't seen Foreman do any evil acts*, but I did see Chase scheme, betray, turn coat, and backstab in the story arc with the donor guy. So based on the episodes I've seen, I'd peg Foreman as N (NG, even!) and Chase as NE.

House is definitely not LN. It's true that he's got a code which he adheres to - this is not the same as a LN, who abides by the very LETTER of the law. House tosses the law out the window whenever the heck it suits him. CN, with G tendencies.

And his charisma's pretty darn high - he's managed to survive in the hospital this long, despite his being a completely loose cannon.

*Though I certainly acknowledge that he could very well have committed them in the many episodes I didn't see.

 

[EP]

House is definitely not LN. It's true that he's got a code which he adheres to - this is not the same as a LN, who abides by the very LETTER of the law. House tosses the law out the window whenever the heck it suits him. CN, with G tendencies.

"A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her."

Not to the letter. House follows a personal code to get the job done. Lawful neutral has their own way of doing things that they swear by. House fits that bill.

 

[prosfilaes]

I did see Chase scheme, betray, turn coat, and backstab in the story arc with the donor guy.

In a fight between two authority figures, neither evil, Chase passed some information along to one of them who looked to be the ultimate winner. That's not nice, it's self-serving, but I hardly see it as evil.

 

[prosfilaes]

"A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her."

Not to the letter. House follows a personal code to get the job done. Lawful neutral has their own way of doing things that they swear by. House fits that bill.

If you interpret things that broadly, I don't see anyone who couldn't be described as lawful. If you're talking about a samurai who lives life by a tightly defined code, that's one thing. But House basically does what he feels like. I don't see any carefully defined internal code that dictates his actions.

 

[Cam Banks]

Gregory House has the same alignment as Sherlock Holmes, although I don't know that I'd volunteer Holmes' alignment either.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Victim]

I think House's Lawful Neutral - he has a method to his madness and follows the science of medicine, just not the doctrines of the medical practise. He just does things his own way. If he were Chaotic, he would literally be tossing in the first drug he got his hands on and standing back with his fingers crossed.

I don't think Chaotic means totally incompetent.

 

[EP]

I don't think Chaotic means totally incompetent.

No, but a chaotic character would not turn to science as a rule. THAT is the "law" House follows: science. Proven facts and known causes are what guide him and he cares little for the socially accepted ways to get there. If he were chaotic, he would put doubt on the facts and put his own spin on them, becoming a totally free spirit and willing to ignore the laws of science. If there's anything that House swears by, it's science. You never see him question these facts, just the doctors who perform them and the patients who suffer from them.

How a person responds and deals with others does not determine their alignment, it's the cause behind their personality and what they truly believe in that dictates their emotions. It may be one thing for House to look like he doesn't care about people and refuse to see them, but he does care and has taken great pains to save their life when he could have lost his medical licence doing so (i.e. the corporate executive who needed a heart transplant but had been taking drugs to induce vommitting...or whatever the actual term was). So while he comes across as a heartless bastard with little care for rules, he does follow his own guidelines and uses the laws of science to cure people his own way because he knows that he'll get better results by skipping all those necessary evils like patient consent, DNRs, and everything else that makes him pop a pill.

 

[Henry]

Remember the season cliffhanger episode? I'd peg him as definitely having an alignment shift from CN to CG at that point.

As for Foreman, I'd peg at True Neutral. The sticking Cameron with a needle thing was definitely a selfish and evil act, but all of his other actions have been more selfish that necessarily evil. He does not delight in inflicting pain on others. It's never been said that a True Neutral can't perform an evil act every so often -- it's part of what makes them neutral, rather than good.

 

[Psion]

No, but a chaotic character would not turn to science as a rule. THAT is the "law" House follows: science.

N/A. D&D "law" and "chaos" are regarding social law, order, and tradition. Not physical.

That said I never watch this show (heck, I never even heard of it until now), so I really have no idea...

 

[Allandaros]

"A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her."

Not to the letter. House follows a personal code to get the job done. Lawful neutral has their own way of doing things that they swear by. House fits that bill.

I assume your quote is from the 3.*e rulebooks. Although many things have changed between 2e and 3.*e, I think the alignments have been intended to remain relatively constant. From the 2e rulebooks (bold is my addition):

"Order and organization are of paramount importance to characters of this alignment. They believe in a strong, well-ordered government, whether that government is a tyranny or benevolent democracy. The benefits of organization and regimentation outweigh any moral questions raised by their actions. An inquisitor determined to ferret out traitors at any cost or a soldier who never questions his orders are good examples of lawful neutral behavior."

House is a doctor in the hospital, subordinate to Cutty (sp?), the administrator. Nobody who's watched the show can accuse House of obeying Cutty.